The latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index tool that measures the movement and stability of U.S. home prices—indicates that home prices between the second and third quarter of 2007 fell 1.7-percent and 4.5-percent when compared to the third quarter of last year.

The S&P/Case-Shiller composes its data by analyzing home values in 20 key markets. Among those markets, Tampa experienced the greatest annual decline in home prices, while Miami, which had a 10-percent decline over a 12-month period, beat fledgling Detroit in the S&P’s recording of falling home prices.
The latest figures show U.S. cities overall taking somewhat of a hit—even in unexpected areas.
“All 20 metro areas were in decline in September over August. Even the five metro areas that still have positive annual growths – Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Portland and Seattle – show continued decelerating in returns,” the S&P/Shiller Home Price Index report says.
When commenting on the latest report, Robert Shiller, chief economist at MacroMarkets LLC, said “The declines in the national figure are notable for two reasons. First, the third quarter decline, at 1.7-percent, was the largest quarterly decline in the index’s 21-year history. And, second, the year-over-year decline posted its second consecutive record low at 4.5-percent. Consistent with prior 2007 reports, there is no real positive news in today’s data. Most of the metro areas continue to show declining or decelerating returns on both an annual and monthly basis.”